Building Capacity, Community & Collective Action.

What We Do

Civic Engagement

Community Education

Economic Development

Leadership Development

About

CDTech equips South LA residents to transform their neighborhoods and create economic opportunities.

Canvassing. Community. Capacity. Change.

CDTech is a catalyst for change in South LA, activating and focusing the potential of residents and businesses. We equip them with the training, strategies and programs they need to be leaders and organizers for neighborhood improvement and economic growth. With 20 years of experience, CDTech combines grassroots participation with strategic policy understanding, creating community development and economic development programs that incorporate deep insight into the actual needs, desires and capabilities of South LA. Grassroots participation, including the development and utilization of local human capital, helps CDTech to deliver self-sustaining programs with long-term, strategic benefits.

Community Engagement

Community Planning and Economic Development courses lead by CDTech reported to have influenced 83% of students "a great deal" to be more civically engaged or engaged in different ways in their community.

Advancement in Community Education

With support from CDTech, the Community Planning Program at Los Angeles Trade Technical College saw a student enrollment retention rate of 93% in the 2014-2015 academic year.

Non-Profit Leadership Development

Last year, the Public Allies, Los Angeles professional and leadership development program retained and graduated 97% of program participants who are now ready for the workforce.

Economic Development

Last year, our Economic Development program graduated 100% of participants in the UNIDAD Workforce Development program, providing community members with vital workforce skills and connecting them with professional networks.

Our Leadership Team

Staff

Fellows

Board of Directors

Volunteers

Testimonials

After completing the training, I now have this confidence that I did not have before and now I’m motivated to know that whatever I want to achieve, I can go out and get it. And that’s because of the training that I had…. I’d like go back to school and work on a degree in writing, because that’s what I’d like to do. I want to write about the experience I had, not only in the training, but what lead me to getting there…. I want to be able to go out into the community and draw other people into programs like CDTech

“I’m thankful that Public Allies Los Angeles exists because it allows for these interactions to take place and for each of us to grow as people who do work from a place of love. The ally experience has shown me that everyone has the possibility of leading and in leading together we build a more just community for the generations that come after.”

My ServiceWorks experience was extremely motivating. I know that the time I used being here was used great. I learned many useful things that will empower my life. My goal is to encourage every others to join ServiceWorks to get the same excitement and learning skills like us scholars.

Community Blog

Celebrating the Power of People On June 30th, 2017, nearly 50 young community members, their friends and family filled a room on the Los Angeles Trade Tech campus with exuberant shouts and cheers. They were gathered to celebrate the 6th Annual Celebration of Emerging Leadership, a graduation ceremony recognizing community residents who have engaged in CDTech’s programming[…]

This letter to community was originally published on the UNIDAD Facebook site. CDTech has been a proud partner in the UNIDAD Coalition for nearly 10 years. The aim in our work with the UNIDAD Coalition is to bring equitable development to South LA in order to create opportunities for residents to live economically healthy and[…]

Courses in the Community Planning and Economic Development (ComPlan) program for the Los Angeles Trade Technical College Fall 2017 semester have been announced and enrollment is now open. The upcoming semester will offer courses in Popular Education, Research & Organizing, Health Policy among other topics. The courses are part of the Community Planning and Economic[…]

Enrolling in our programs has become a bit easier! People interested in learning more about community planning, or looking for an affordable professional development opportunity can now enroll online! To enroll, please visit http://college.lattc.edu/student/new-students/ This summer we will be offering an opportunity to be a part of the Community Planning/Labor Studies Changemakers College Academy[…]

CDTech President and CEO, Benjamin Torres has been named one of the Durfree Foundation Sabbatical Awardees. Every other year, The Durfee Foundation, whose mission is to “build partnerships with individuals and institutions that share (The Durfee Foundation’s) ideals of creativity, risk-taking, fiscal care, integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and continuous learning” awards six organizational leaders a[…]

LATTC Students Shine at Showcase Los Angeles Trade Technical College Students in the Community Planning and Economic Development Program (also known as ComPlan) shone brightly as they presented their student projects to family, friends and supporters during the ComPlan Student Showcase on June 1st. Student presenters were selected by their course instructors and[…]

The intersectional experiences of Latina immigrant women in South Los Angeles have without a doubt, created compounded obstacles for reaching both economic and social capital in a community that it, of itself, has historically faced systemic challenges. They are women. They are people of color. They are immigrants. The commencement of this year brought[…]

by Michael Fine (This post originally appeared on www.smokefreeapartmentsla.org on March 16, 2017) ​​Smokefree Apartments Los Angeles was one of dozens of community programs represented at this year’s All Peoples Wellness Convention, thanks to our partner CD Tech. This past weekend, families came from all over the Los Angeles area converged upon the All Peoples[…]

Article originally published by The Los Angeles Times on November 1, 2016 By Angel Jennings Plans to build a $1.2-billion residential, hotel and retail complex in South Los Angeles are one step closer to approval after city officials Tuesday rejected the arguments of community activists who said the project could lead to widespread displacement of low-income[…]